Vehicle engines mount auxiliary parts, such as front end accessory devices at the front end of an engine and on a main body of the engine. A drive pulley may be coupled to the crankshaft of the engine and further coupled to the auxiliary devices through a system of drive belts and auxiliary pulleys. For example, such auxiliary parts may include an alternator for charging a battery, a water pump for supplying cooling water to the engine and other devices, a thermostat coupled to the water pump, an air conditioning compressor and an oil pump coupled to a power steering system.
The parts described above may be mounted onto an auxiliary parts bracket which is then mounted to the engine. However, vehicle packaging constraints may limit the amount of space available for the mounting bracket and accessories. In-line, transverse engines pose a significant challenge, in that the crankshaft is perpendicular to the longitudinal-axis of the vehicle. For engines of this sort with five or six cylinders, the space remaining to couple an auxiliary parts bracket is significantly less than for longitudinal engines.
The inventors herein have recognized in this type of configuration, mounting all of the auxiliary parts on the outside of the mounting bracket may be impractical. Further, space available on the cylinder head for mounting a parts bracket may be ill-suited for mounting bolts and bosses typically used for coupling the mounting bracket to the engine.
In one example approach, a system is provided. The system comprises a vehicle engine with a crankshaft; a bracket structure coupled to the vehicle engine; a thermostat positioned in the bracket structure; an accessory device coupled to the bracket structure; a water pump mounted to the bracket structure; and a drive loop coupling the accessory device and water pump with the crankshaft. In this way, the accessory device may be mounted off the engine front end, thereby enabling improved packaging.
In another example approach, a drive system for a vehicle engine, comprises; a drive pulley coupled to the crankshaft of the engine, at least one drive belt for connecting the drive pulley to a plurality of accessory pulleys, with each accessory pulley coupled to a different driven device, and a bracket structure coupled to both the vehicle engine and at least one drive belt, where the bracket structure includes mounts for the plurality of accessory pulleys and driven devices, and where the bracket structure further includes a housing for a thermostat and water pump such that the thermostat and water pump are substantially contained within the outer dimensions of the bracket structure. In this way, by mounting the thermostat and water pump within the bracket structure, less engine compartment space is needed to contain the plurality of accessories and accessory pulleys.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.